Is the Government Scaring Web Businesses Out of the US? 271
suraj.sun sends this quote from an article at Techdirt:
"The federal government has been paying lip service to the idea that it wants to encourage new businesses and startups in the U.S. And this is truly important to the economy, as studies have shown that almost all of the net job growth in this country is coming from internet startups. ... With the JotForm situation unfolding, where the U.S. government shut down an entire website with no notice or explanation, people are beginning to recognize that the U.S is not safe for internet startups. Lots of folks have been passing around [a] rather reasonable list of activities for U.S.-based websites."
JotForm takedown (Score:5, Informative)
The ars technica article has some useful background: arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2012/02/secret-service-asks-for-shutdown-of-legit-website-over-user-content-godaddy-complies.ars [arstechnica.com]
Sounds like a good reason to leave GoDaddy, IMO.
Re:JotForm takedown (Score:5, Informative)
Fixed that for you.
Re:Bullshit (Score:5, Informative)
Not sure if you're a troll or an idiot. JotForm and Dajaz1 both had their sites returned after the feds admitted that there had been no wrongdoing but they'd been shut down anyway, and Rojadirecta (which is still offline) actually had a court judgment saying it was legal.
Re:Bullshit (Score:5, Informative)
Money quote from the ARS article, from a non-American user of Internet services: "I will now have to question purchasing any more services from US internet related providers."
Australian businesses are now being urged to avoid doing any business at all with American companies, as the simple use of outsourcing data processing to an American-based company gives Uncle Sam the impression that he owns the data.
If you don't see the severity of this, then your eyes are most definitely NOT OPEN.
I'm an American living in Europe, and am slowly migrating all of my Internet "things" away from the States as I fear a corrupt, power-hungry US government run amok. Let me respond to your statement with two simple questions and answers:
1) Am I trafficking in child porn, pirated software or anything else illegal? OF COURSE NOT.
2) Am I concerned that parts of my websites will suddenly be unavailable due to some police investigation on a third party that I do business with, causing financial damages to me that the US Gubment could care less about? HELLZ YEAH.
Developers Still Read Slashdot? Really? (Score:3, Informative)
Dude, the days when slashdot was read attentively by developers and other IT decision-makers is long past (just don't tell that to InfoWorld, which still pays a premium to astroturf here).
This is a tech-and-gadget flavored Newser.com, with open-source stories replacing the celebrity bits ("Linux instead of Lohan!"). Wired Magazine was exclusive and tech-elite when it started as well, and now it's all "Green Energy" and Rolex ads.
The word "geek" has lost all meaning; one need only note all the slick sales-and-marketing suits now smugly referring to themselves as "movie geeks."
Language changes. Media evolves. And writers and media-owners gotta pay the bills somehow...
Re:Bullshit (Score:5, Informative)
I mean, if a cop decides to beat me for no reason, he gets investigated (and if there's evidence) gets convicted.
Yeah, right. More likely he gets a paid vacation for a few weeks (if even that), a slap on the wrist, and then he's back on the streets to abuse people just like he learned back in grade school bullying his classmates.
Hell, how hard is it to even prove that the beating was "for no reason"? Cops already routinely confiscate any video proof of their misdeeds, even from innocent bystanders [wbur.org]. And those dash-cams? Good luck depending on those to exonerate you [komonews.com].
Needed: a good registrar (Score:5, Informative)
Which registrars take the position contractually that the domain is the property of the registrant and will not be taken down without a court order? Find a registrar that doesn't have "sole discretion" language like this, from Network Solutions: We may terminate this Agreement or any part of the Network Solutions services at any time in the event you breach any obligation hereunder, fail to respond within ten (10) calendar days to an inquiry from us concerning the accuracy or completeness of the information referred to in Section 4 of this Agreement, if we determine in our sole discretion that you have violated the Network Solutions Acceptable Use Policy ... or for any other reason in Network Solutions' sole discretion upon written
notice to you.
Other failing registrars with "sole discretion" terms include NameKing, Register.com, Name.com, DomainIt, GoDaddy, eNom, Backslap, PairNIC, Best Registrar, Havaname LLC, DomainName, Tucows, Melborne IT...